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While I was dealing with all the health issues I had this year, I was so exhausted at times that it was all I could do to make it to work. Even reading was too much for me to handle. Needless to say, I haven’t been as productive as I’d have liked, at least until the past couple of weeks. However, to try to keep my writing mojo going, and at least stay in the mindset of writing, editing, reading, creating, etc., I redecorated my writing desk area with a writerly theme in mind. (Actually, I overhauled my entire living room / dining room with the writerly theme, but I’ll save the rest to show you another time.)

As I’ve shared before, my décor is a late 1950s / early 1960s motif, so I tried to keep that going while adding literary touches. You’ll note the books on the top shelf include an old school dictionary, thesaurus, and volume library. (Of course, they also include the “Chicago Manual of Style,” Stephen King’s “On Writing,” and Chuck Sambuchino’s “Guide to Literary Agents.” Though those aren’t vintage, they are good to have around.)

My mouse pad as well as my little statuette features The Raven from my favorite guy, Edgar Allan Poe.

My printer is just the best investment ever! I’ve definitely made use of printing my manuscripts in a different font than I type in then editing the hard copy. It makes a huge difference seeing your work on paper as opposed to digitally. This model is reasonably priced on Amazon (more reasonable than I’d have ever imagined), and the laser cartridges are under $30 which is less than I used to pay for ink in my old inkjet! Better yet, a single cartridge prints around ten reams of paper with no quality problems whatsoever.

I found these cool plastic envelopes at The Container Store to hold the manuscripts I print while I’m editing them. (They’re great for carrying them back and forth to work to peruse during my lunch hour.)

And finally, my awesome sister Michelle got me a subscription to Writer’s Digest as well as Poets & Writers. Both are very cool (though I favor WD by far), and they both have lots of useful information that make them worth keeping after I read them. (Those actually go in another one of those cool plastic envelopes once I’m done with them.)

Anyway, thanks for visiting me at my house today. As I’m starting to get my energy back, I hope my creativity will start flowing again and I can think of more interesting things to blog about.

So tell me, what do you have in your writing nook, and what keeps you inspired?

Hello, friends. As we prepare for the holiday tomorrow, life in my neck of the woods is getting rather busy. As such, I’m reposting something I wrote last year with a few minor revisions. Have a great long weekend!

Have you ever noticed that writers frequently have cats? I have an opinion (or maybe just an observation) that I’d like to share on the subject:

Of course there are the obvious perks: Cats don’t require us to stop what we’re doing to care for them. When we’re lucky, they might decide to curl up on our lap or our desk, and they may make their presence known once in a while by walking across the keyboard aaas weeee tyyyypppe. But they eventually fall asleep and let us become absorbed into our “other life” which we are writing about.

When we proofread, sometimes we like to hear out loud how the words flow. If we tell people we’re talking to our cat, we don’t sound as crazy as we do if we’re observed sitting home alone, reading out loud to no one in particular.

Cats are good critics. If we read to our cat and the dialog flows well, they may just stick around if we’re lucky. (If you read to a dog, they tend to take that as a sign that you want to play, and they proceed in attempting to convince you to get out of your chair and follow them.)

While dogs are nice, they require a great deal more attention and upkeep than a cat. They are carefree and laid back. Dogs are like, “Hey! It’s me! Look at me! Touch me! I’m over here! Love me! Hey, let’s throw the ball! Do ya wanna go outside? Do ya? Do ya? Huh?”

Cats are more reserved. They’re formal and high-brow. They’re more like, “Hello, peasant. I thought I might grace you with my presence for a few minutes. Won’t that be a treat for you? If you’re lucky, I’ll allow you to give me a good chin scratch. Just don’t touch my belly. Otherwise, I might have to scratch the shit out of you.”

As such, dogs tend to interrupt the creative flow when they need to go out or just want some love. But cats are self-sufficient. They hide out until they’re ready to acknowledge us, then they give us a few minutes of their time before they curl up and fall back asleep. We adopt dogs; cats adopt us.

Many well-known authors throughout history have had an affection for cats. I think the most notable is Ernest Hemingway and his famous multi-toed cats. If you ever get a chance to go to Key West, you must stop by the Hemingway house and take the tour. Not only is it quite interesting to walk through and see things like his original typewriter and desk, but you’ll also see dozens of offspring of his original cats.

Other famed authors that were (or are) known for keeping company with felines include Stephen King, Truman Capote, Charles Dickens, Ray Bradbury, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and T.S. Eliot, to name but a few. Also, let’s not forget that Dr. Seuss loved cats so much that he wrote about one who went on to be famous in The Cat in the Hat. (I made that part up about Dr. Seuss. I have no idea if that’s really true or not.)

I personally have four indoor cats who help me write (as well as an outdoor feral cat who adopted me). So on my desk, next to my computer, I always have a bottle of water and a bag of sunflower seeds for me, and I keep a jar of cat treats for my friends. At any given point during my time writing, when things get too intense, I can count on Zsa Zsa, Cleo, Snow, or Dakota stopping by for a little visit to break up my monotony. And when my rabbit, Sir Wiggly Higgins, is out of his cage, he plays with his cat sisters and brother and thinks he is one of them as well.{My bunny died since this original post.} (These are my cats and bunny below… I apologize that Cleo couldn’t be bothered to get in the picture with everyone else. As you can see, she was busy napping.)

While dogs have a low threshold of what it takes for them to attach themselves to someone, cats tend to set the bar high. Cats, like writers, are wise, sensitive creatures who need to be understood to be fully appreciated.

If you write and you have a cat, good for you! If you are an author and you don’t yet have a cat, please go find one today. If it adopts you, consider yourself blessed.